Chloe's Past (with optional, alternate ending)
by DNA-Do-Not-Abominate
Summary: Chloe reveals what her life was like before attending college, and the Bears feel sorry for ever asking her...(or will they?)
1. Wrong Words are Spoken

**Disclaimer: I do not own We Bare Bears or the characters and seek no profit ; all rights, except my story idea/plot, belong to CN & Daniel Chong. I simply express Fair Use. Enjoy!**

 **The alternative ending** **is the** **last page, continuing after one reads chapter 4. I did this because the other two chapters were my original idea, but I felt not everyone would agree with this perspective. It's not bad or anything, it just might not be what the typical fans want is all. The alternate ending is a little more...child oriented and somewhat unrealistic (to me). The other two are more teen, older, and realer.**

* * *

It all seemed like another day at the Cave for the Bears. Grizz was in the living room playing video games, Panda was in the kitchen reading an anime comic, and Ice Bear was at work, cooking for Chloe and the others, who was busy finishing some Calculus homework that she stated she had to finish before chilling with the others.

In the other room, Grizz could be heard shouting things like "YEAH, gotcha!" and "Oh, you little sneaky power-up". Grizz was heavily invested in his game, and the others had no idea what level he was even on.

Pan-Pan looked up from his comic to Ice Bear and asked him "Hey dude, when is the food going to be ready? I don't think it so long to make a grilled cheese". Panda, being the vegetarian he was, would not be eaten a panini with Chloe.

"Almost finished" said Ice Bear in his monotonic, calm-sounding voice. He did not even look back at Panda in his response, heavily invested in his culinary creation. While not much was being made, cooking was perhaps his favorite activity, explaining why he never mined cooking all the meals in the Cave.

Panda looked towards Chloe and eyed her homework. He could not make sense of all the numbers and letters and charts that were on the papers he saw. It made his head somewhat dizzy and amazed that Chloe could understand it all so well. He wanted to ask her how she knew what she was doing, but decided to not bug her and went back into his comic book. He could not get his mind off that smell that lingered around in the room, almost taunting him.

"BOOM! You…are…DEAD!" shouted Grizz from the other room, almost disturbing everybody else in the kitchen from behind him. The game made some pixel-jumbling sounds as everyone looked away from their stuff to give Grizz a hairy eye from behind his back. Grizz might be annoying at times, but he was still a good guy, and everybody knew that. He came walking into the kitchen to boast to everyone about how he just finished his "epic" takedown on the final boss of some Dungeon-Trappers game.

"Hang on Grizz, almost done" said Chloe as she was still face-deep in her homework, making scribbles and writing over stuff Grizz and the others may not even be able to comprehend. Grizz looked over anyway to see how far along Chloe was. He could tell she was on the last question. From out of nowhere, Ice Bear snuck up from behind and served his late lunch for everybody. He called the names of everybody individually as he slid the plates of food to all three at the table.

"Panda" he said as he slid a grilled cheese w/ some tomato slices on the side of the plate to him. Panda looked down at the cheesy-bread and was ready to dine, but not until after placing his comic down gently and far away from the food to avoid any staining.

"Grizz" came next. Ice had anticipated his older brother would finish just as he would his cooking. Knowing he had a much larger appetite than anyone else did, he served him, not one, not two, not three, but FOUR paninis, each one with the same toppings and condiments, but a different kind of meat. They all had lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, mayo, and some other food-oriented stuff in it. One was salmon, one was beef, another chicken, and the last was ham, identifiable by little signs taped on toothpicks. This was why Ice took so long, but again, he did not mind. Panda on the other hand; gave Grizz a stern look after seeing all the different sandwiches in front of him, silently scorning him even though Grizz did not see.

"Chloe" was last, who held back from eating her panini of ham, made to look just like Grizz's. She was finishing the last of her writing and, after just a few more seconds, she laid her pencil down and looked up at the marvel of construction before her. Ice Bear continued to stand, not caring that he had no seat, and went over to the stove to get his food. He made himself a BLT, not feeling all too hungry at the moment.

"Wow Ice. This looks incredible" said Chloe as she stared at the juiciness of her delicacy plopped in front of her.

"It is" called Grizz as he was chowing down already on his food. He had already killed one of his sandwiches in just a few bites and was ready to devour the next one, spitting out the toothpick, but on the floor, knowing full well to not do it on the table.

Panda decided to finally ask Chloe about her homework after he had swallowed the first bite of his grilled cheese. "Hey Chloe, what was that you were working on there? Math?" Chloe looked up from her sandwich, which she had not even taken a bite out of yet. Grizz continued to devour his, not even looking up, and Ice had walked back to the table to hear Chloe's response as he quietly enjoyed his bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes on bread.

"Yeah, it was calculus, the second." She replied, trying to sound humble.

"Second? There's different numbers of it?" replied Panda.

"Not exactually, just stages. At my university, there are up to eight different levels of the course, but unless you were going for mathematics or something like that, you only have to take the first one or two, possibly third in some majors, but IDK those ones."

Panda was a little surprised to hear her say eight levels. He finished his second bite and swallowed, responding with only "Eight!? Who would want to do that?"

Grizz looked up from his food and responded without even comprehending what they were talking about "If we're talking about video games, I'm sure eight levels of math would be a piece of cake!"Grizz smiled like was trying to show-boast himself, but all Chloe could do was chuckle at Grizz's response. She could not imagine Grizz going all the way to Calculus VIII.

"Well this is the second level. I already completed Calculus I back in high school."

Grizz stopped eating, having only one sandwich left to eat, and asked her "How did you do that?"

"Oh, well, I took AP Calculus my sophomore year, well…half-year technically." She continued on by explaining the difference about AP classes and regular classes. "The AP courses give people college credits if they pass, which I did, and those credits allowed me to skip the first level. Regular high school classes don't do that."

All the Bears realized that this was the first time Chloe has ever told them about her life before attending college. Hoping to keep this momentum going, Panda asks her "High school, huh? What was that like?"

Still not having taken a bite of her sandwich, Chloe looked shocked that Panda asked, realizing she has made a mistake bringing up the question.


	2. Hindering

Chloe instantly grabbed her panini and wolfed the biggest bite she could out of it, chewing pretty loud and fast. The Bears observed her sudden devouring of the food. Ice's cooking might have been delicious, but Chloe doesn't really act this way.

As soon as her mouth was mostly clear of the monster bite, she shouted in a desperate attempt to change the subject "Wow Ice". Her mouth was still full of some food as she continued. "How did you learn to cook so well"?

She stared at Ice, expecting a response, but he said nothing. He stared at her, realizing her tactical strategy. He cared for Chloe, but didn't like being used, and he was not going to fall victim as a pawn. He wanted her to answer the question and just stood there, quietly eating his sandwich. Chloe realized she made another mistake by asking the cleverest of the bears to change the subject. Grizz and Panda meanwhile stared at Ice for a little bit, expecting him to say something as well. When the silence continued, they looked at each other and wondered why there was tension in the kitchen, especially when there was food around them.

Grizz eventually had to break the silence and asked Chloe "Is something wrong, Chloe?"

She stared down at her bitten food, swallowed what was left in her mouth, and sighed in depression. Grizz instantly realized what was going on and sincerely followed up his question by explaining to her "Look, you don't have to tell us about it if you don't want to. We understand if you feel uncomfortable."

This only made her grumble in anger now. It was the classic 'you-don't-have-to-,but-I-will-anyway' trick. She never has felt like such a doop in her whole life. She raises her head off the table after her grumbling ends and says with a straight face and tone "No, no Grizz. It's ok. I…I am ok with telling you guys. Let's just…go to the living room is all."

She takes one more bite of her sandwich that Ice Bear had prepared for her, so he wouldn't feel insulted, and got up from her seat to begin walking into the living room. Ice Bear, who was already standing, followed her under the archway. Grizz grabbed his last sandwich and followed behind, while Panda, being farthest from the opening, grabbed what was left of his grilled cheese and left his comic on the table, following the oldest brother.

The Bears saw Chloe standing on top of their round wooden table, waiting for them to take seats. Panda sat down in the middle after Grizz and Ice took the sides. Grizz put the dish with his last sandwich onto his lap, while Panda and Ice had just finished theirs. All was silent as they waited for Chloe to speak, but she seemed nervous. She sat down and tilted her head towards the ground, her arms on her pants, and her mind…who knew? Still, the bears just stared at her, patient and quiet. She took a deep breath, exhaled, and pulled her head up to start from the beginning.


	3. Confession & Confusion

"Do you guys remember when we first met and I told you about how I skipped a bunch of grades"?

"Yeah, back when you started in August last year. What about that?"Grizz responded almost clueless.

Chloe continued "Well it is true that I did skip a lot of grades, but it didn't happen all at once. You see: It all started back in Kindergarten when I was 5." The Bears leaned in some in for her story.

"While most kids there were playing dress up or running around with cars, I was often reading. I don't know why, but I enjoyed it. Just opening a book and tuning all the noise out seemed peaceful and serene, but of all the books I read, my favorite was _The Giving Tree._ I loved reading it so much that I started breaking it down into symbolism about the tree being a parent and the kid is just asking so much of it that the child eventually ruins it. When my teachers found out about this, they were impressed by my interpretation of the book."Grizz decided to take a bite of his sandwich as he continued listening to Chloe's tale. He took normal sized bites however to be respectful to her.

"Eventually," continued Chloe "when my parents were told about this, I was taken to a testing center to see how advanced my intellectual skills were. I swear, I must have taken, like, 50 tests over the course of a few weeks. When it was all done with, my parents were told by the testing facility that I was 'gifted'. They said I had the intellect of a middle schooler, and recommended that I advance onto 6th grade."

The bear's were confused by this and didn't understand the gap between K-to-6. Chloe could tell they were lost however, so she quickly broke it down to them. "See, in the school system, there are 12 grades, plus Kindergarten, so 13 kind of. K-5 is Elementary, 6-8 is Middle, and 9-12 is High school, usually. I basically skipped 5 grades after being in Kindergarten for only a couple months." The Bear's were a little surprised by this, silently applauding Chloe for her talent, but she went on, though this time, her voice seemed a little more upsetting.

"Anyway, so after I turned 6, I went on to the same grade #, completely skipping all of elementary school, but I kind of didn't want to".

Grizz ended up asking her after finishing some of his sandwich "Then why did you?"

Panda followed asking "Yeah, why?"

"I felt like it was what my parents wanted. The moment they realized how intelligent I was, they were so proud and amazed by me that it seemed like they wanted me to go through with it. They were just so happy and all-for-me that I felt like saying no might disappoint them." Chloe frowned a little, showing this was clearly bothering her, but before the Bears could intervene, she continued. "After arriving there, I kind of, well…got made fun of." At that moment, the bears were stunned to hear this; Grizz even dropped his sandwich from his grasp and back onto the plate in a heaping mess.

Panda reacted and asked "Like, like how?"

Chloe looked away from Panda, almost like he was interrogating her, but she took another deep breath and persevered, looking back towards the group. "At first, it was only verbal stuff. They would make fun of my age and height and stuff like that, but I just let it roll over me. Eventually though, some of the guys started doing more…physical things, like dumping milk over my head at the cafeteria and knocking my books and papers out of my hands in the hall. The girls were especially meaner, supporting the actions the others did and calling out to all my classmates about how I was like a baby to them in their eyes."

The Bears were shocked to hear all this and Ice Bear said "Ice Bear will hunt down enemies." Grizz decided to act in before Ice Bear actually stood up to get his hatchet. "WO, WO, WO now dude, take it easy. Chloe, you were…bullied?"

Chloe looked away again and closed her eyes this time, unable to stare at Grizz. She was silent, but responded, still unable to look at them "Yeah, but middle school wasn't even the worst of it; that was high school." The Bears all looked at each other in discomfort over Chloe, who looked like a giant ball of sadness just waiting to explode, and her blue hoody only made it look more real. Ice Bear, who was still standing up, walked over to Chloe, leaned in, and gave her a hug. It was that big of an emergency.

She looked a little happier as she rose her arms to hug Ice Bear's. Her head rested on his white, furry arms as he tried to comfort her, and Panda and Grizz just watched in both awe and sorrowfulness. After a while of this, she pulled her head up, opened her eyes, and made a small, but dim smile. Ice bear backed off, happy to have relieved her sadness, but also a little happy to no longer be in his position. Ice Bear cared for his brothers and Chloe, but he has his limits at times. He turned to face his brothers and walked back to the couch to sit back down with them as they patiently waited for Chloe to continue. Grizz and Panda looked at their younger brother; a little surprised he was so open like that. Clearly he had a soft spot for Chloe, or maybe he felt guilty for not changing the subject earlier in the kitchen.

She continued from where she left off, a little more happy than when she first began (, but this would not last very long). "Anyways," she said trying to recap where her last thoughts. "Umm… so… I was in middle school for only a year. I aced so many tests and quizzes that the school recommended I try some high school leveled practice exams. At first, I was hesitant, but when the teasing wouldn't stop, I reluctantly agreed. I was hoping high school would be a bit better." She stopped for a second to think of what to say next.

"So I went along with the tests and, no surprise, I was pretty advanced in the school's eyes. They said middle school was too basic for me and that I should go off to high school. They told me it was a more mature place with open-minded people and I-". She froze and raised one of her hands up to her mouth after closing her eyes, forming a fist of suppression. The Bears felt a little awkward to see her just suddenly stop, but said nothing out of fear of how she would react. She was silent again; the whole room feeling like it was collapsing in on her, crushing her with every second of silence.

She snapped out of it and finished what she was trying to say, but there was a choking and tone of sadness in what she said next. "I was…actually gullible enough *sniffle* to believe them." She started to forms tears in her eyes and quickly wiped them away, wanting to prove she was still somehow strong to them.

The Bears could no longer see her in such pain and Panda broke out towards her, saying "Chloe, don't! You don't have to tell us if this is hurting you so much. We feel horrible for making you feel like this, just please stop if you want to".

Grizz quickly interjected along with Panda. "Yeah, we want you to be happy, not…this". He never saw Chloe so sad and couldn't tell what she was experiencing. Was it pain? Sorrow? Sadness? Anger? Narcissistically, the Bears felt as sad as she was right now.


	4. True Strength Within

Ice Bear said nothing, leaving for the kitchen when he saw Chloe starting to cry. He came back with a cup of Chamomile tea, hoping it would calm her nerves. He walked past the couch and placed the drink on the table Chloe was sitting on. Without even checking to observe it, Chloe grabbed for the warm cup and brushed her hair back as she brought her head back into normal position.

"*sniffle* Thank you" she replied in a in a very quiet and devastating manner. She took a sip of it as Ice Bear walked away to give her all the space she needed, as well as give the bears some time to talk if they needed to while she was engaged with herself and the calming drink.

Panda whispered towards Grizz on his right "Grizz, I don't know what to do here. We shouldn't make her feel like she has to continue, but we can't just tell her to stop".

Grizz replied "I know, but I feel lost as well. Maybe we should get her to call her parents and have them bring her home."

Ice Bear budged in to give his suggestion. "Ice Bear hopes tea will make her sleepy".

[From off camera, still facing the Bears,] Chloe said, overhearing the three "Guys. *sniffles* It's ok, really. It's just that… you guys are the first ones who have ever wondered what it was like for me growing up." Her tone sounded more depressing than upset, like that was even somehow possible to the Bears.

"What about your parents?" said Grizz, holding the arm not on his destroyed pile of sandwich out towards her. "Haven't you ever told them about this kind of stuff?"

Chloe stared straight at them and exclaimed "I never told my parents, no. Before I tell you why though, can I…finish with high school?" The Bears were a little uncomfortable by this, fearing it would only devastate her completely, but they did not want to hurt Chloe's feelings even more than she was in already. Saying no would only make her feel unappreciated.

Grizz spoke out on behalf of his brothers with some uncertainty in his voice "Umm, sure, if it will help." Chloe actually smiled back at Grizz through all her despair and sadness, stating it will, as she drank one more sip of the tea Ice Bear had made. Looks like the drink was really working after all.

She placed the cup down and moved on, still looking out at the bears on the couch. "I told my parents this time about the news and, once more, they were very happy for me. My dad actually took me and my mom out to dinner that night to celebrate my achievement. Between me, the news, and the food, my parents were laughing and praising me, saying what a great kid I was and how 'they always knew I was destined for greatness, but never knew it would happen to me at such a young age'". She finished this with her hands air quoting what her parents told her all those years ago.

"I ended up accepting the offer and, when I was 7, started out my freshman year in high school, that's first by the way, so 9th". She said this smiling a little more, looking almost normal and having moved past from the near breakdown a little while ago. "Now, I was at high school a while longer than the other schools, but that was mostly because I stayed and took more advanced classes earlier on. We had a total of seven classes per year, and since high school lasts for 4, how many is that?" she asked the bears.

Grizz answered first, questioning her question. "uh, 42?"

"11?" was Pan-Pan's answer.

Then Ice Bear had gotten right. "28," he said.

Chloe answered excitedly at Ice, smiling even more "Correct. I could have just taken basic classes, but some of these basics could be replaced with college versions: Pre-calc. with AP calc, History with AP Hist., and so on. Some classes could not do this, like algebra and economics, at my school at least. Truth is though…" She stopped to catch herself, instantly losing the smile she reclaimed. "I only… did it because my parents thought I should. I mean, they did tell me that 'they believed I could do it' and 'I did not have to if I didn't desire it', but I thought it was just there way of saying they wanted me to".

In that instance, Grizz suddenly felt horrible, correlating what her parents got her to do with his own actions earlier. He turned his head away from Chloe to drown himself in shame, but looking out at the window, he noticed the sun was going down. He couldn't believe that night was coming so fast. It seemed too soon. He thought to himself _how long has this been going on for?_

She then got to the part about the bullies. "What the councilor in middle school said about high school was a lie though. Maturity was most certainly not present there. I not only took so much crap, but, literally, got so much beaten into me." This just made Grizz, whose head instantly jerked back in Chloe's direction, and Panda's jaws drop in disbelief. Ice didn't drop his, but his eyes were wide open and full of dubiousness. Chloe took another sip of the tea before continuing, preparing for the worst.

"The first week I was there," she started off in a sketchy, upsetting voice, "I not only got picked on for my size and age around a bunch of teens, but my stuff was stolen from me on a day-to-day basis as the guys took my things and tossed them to each other over my head to taunt me even more. When they were done, they threw it either on top of a place I couldn't reach or, if I was lucky, in a trash can, where I had to jump in and grab everything."

The Bears closed their jaws and returned to normal eye size after Grizz replied "That's HOR-rible", emphasizing.

"It get's worst." She said back to him, sniffling a little, but not tearing or crying. "None of the other girls wanted to be my friends when I was there. They said that I wasn't cool enough to be around them and that I should go 'back to playing with dollies' or 'have tea with my imaginary friends', which I never had one by the way"! She started to sound angry on the second part, gooking the bears out.

"It wasn't only bad enough that I had no friends or respect, even for my intelligence, but there was a time when I actually got into a fight."

Panda had to respond in disbelief of what she said, dragging out the word as he almost breathed it out. "Nooo!"

Chloe turned specifically to Panda and replied "Oh yeah. It happened in my sophomore year. I was walking to class when Britney, one of the meanest girls in school, crashed into me down the hall on my way to P.E. She had a coffee in her hand from lunch and, apparently, my collision with her dumped the entire hot mess on her skin and white dress. She ran to the water fountain nearby to cool the coffee off. Even though I ran to her and apologized, she was furious." Chloe was now transitioning from some sadness to anger with every passing word, getting up from her seated position to stand up in front of the Bears and paced back and forth as she spoke.

"She started complaining to me about how this dress of hers was brand-new and I had ruined it. I told her she could just bleach it out, but I don't think she was even listening to me at the time, what with the pain she felt." Then came the scariness in her voice. "She walked to me slowly, but angrily. I was only 4 ft. 2 at the time and she, being 15, had to be at least 5 ft. 4. She came closer, arms out, hands in a fist formation, and sucker punched me right in my face!"

Her shouting startled everyone, with Panda reaching over towards Ice for the pillow he was leaning against. He couldn't reach it, but Ice, not breaking his stare at Chloe, handed it to Panda, who then tucked himself into a ball and the pillow tight around his arms and chest.

Chloe ended her short, saying "I ended up getting a black eye and, when the nurse asked what happen, I told her I tripped in the hall and slammed my face on my locker. No one told her the truth and all those who witnessed it didn't speak up. I chose not to say anything because I feared Britney might hurt me again, or get her boyfriend at the time to do it for her."

Grizz had to ask her again. "What about your parents? What did they say?"

Chloe looked down on herself in shame and stated "I told them the same thing, not wanting them to be disappointed in me and having to take me out of the school." The Bears were all confused and could not understand why Chloe would say such a thing, but they just did not understand; it was personal.

Chloe continued on, sitting herself sown and her voice sounding sadder by the second; de ja vu came to them all. "I was in high school for 3 years, but I could have graduated from there in 2. The reason I stayed the extra year was because I had completed all the basic classes and AP substitutes that were necessary to get a diploma, but I chose to stay and do more college classes, knowing I would be going to college after high school and…" She stopped again to look down at the table and released a big exhaling of wind from herself. She said softly, yet profound and sad "then become an adult".

Grizz decided to ask "Wait a minute, is that one of the reasons why you don't want to be in college? Because you don't like getting older?"

Chloe looked herself up back to the trio and protested "No, not exactly. It's because I think it was not best for me".


	5. The Solution

Chloe continued what she was going to say. "There are so many downsides to being this 'prodigy' in college. I'm not old enough to drink, meaning I don't get to go to parties all that much and, when I do, the people have to make sure the place is 'kid-friendly' to make sure it is safe for me, making me feel like a pooper on everyone there. I also can't date anybody there because of my age, not like if I was back in my old school. It would not only be weird, but also illegal for any guy at college to do something like that. But what's perhaps worst of all". She froze and her voice started to sound more upsetting and sadder than before, like she was about to cry.

"What am I going to do after I graduate?" She now started to form tears in her eyes. "I mean, even if I stayed in college for all four year, I would graduate at 14, and what with child labor laws, I don't think I could get a job anywhere." Suddenly, her eyes opened wide at the starking realization she just had.

"Oh my gosh. I'll spend the entirety of my teenage life working." She buried her face into her crossed arms and wadded herself up into a ball, making Panda come out of his form. She started crying loud and uncontrollably, discomforting the bears once more until Grizz could no longer keep them in silence.

"Chloe, I…I don't understand. I thought you enjoyed being in college, around more understanding people." Chloe did not respond at first, still crying and her face still tucked into her arms.

"I…*sniffle*. I like that others are more caring towards me, but I don't like how much of my childhood I missed out on. Kids my age shouldn't be in college; I should be in 5th or 6th grade right now" she pleaded towards them.

Panda ended up asking "What about the bullies"?

Chloe looked at Panda to answer him. "They only picked on me because of my age, possibly jealousy also, but mostly my age. If I were as old as them, I wouldn't have ever have been bullied."

Grizz could not watch her be disappointed anymore and had to react. "Then why do you stay? Why don't you just tell your parents you'd rather not be there anymore?"

"you mean like… dropout?" Chloe responded.

"No, no. I mean, why not just go back to the earlier years you talked about? You don't have to go to college if you don't want to. We didn't after all" reasoned Grizz.

Chlow sniffled, wiping the last of her tears away "I suppose that could be possible, but my parents wouldn't approve."

Panda budged in this time. "How would you know?"

There was a long silence in the room as Chloe did not answer. So quiet, the wind outside could be heard blowing against the cave. Then she instantly started up again. "Going to college always seemed like what they intended for me. They were always so happy about my excellence and praised me CONSTANTLY! To tell them I did not want to do all the move-ups would only hurt them and disappoint them. I don't want my parents to be upset, especially towards or because of me.", and then came the tears again.

Instantly, Grizz, being the oldest and somewhat wisest of his brothers, jumped in before she could continue. He was fast, like Ice Bear and his martial arts skills. "Chloe, hey-hey-hey, it's ok, really it is. Hey. Look at me Chloe." She did as he instructed with the widest, saddest frown he possibly could, nearly destroying Grizz from the inside with all that sadness coming from just one little person. He pushed past it and went on with what he was going to say. "Your parents would never be disappointed in you; they love you very much. They only were happy because they were proud of you, not because they wanted you to do it. I got a feeling that your parents want what's best for you, not them. If you don't feel like wanting to be in college, just tell them. I'm sure they would understand."

Chloe wiped away the tears on her face and shrunk her frown some for Grizz, choking her voice again. "You…you really…think so?"

"Of course I do." replied Grizz once more. "Every parent wants what is best for their child. We don't push anything on each other if we don't feel comfortable with it; we just support each other is all. That's what your parents were doing. They were supporting you, not encouraging you."

Panda inserted "I agree with Grizz. If you would rather be a normal child than a prodigy, go ahead. Don't make yourself do something you aren't comfortable with or want to because of what others think." He got up off the couch and walked towards Grizz and Chloe.

Ice Bear came up from behind. "Ice Bear is proud of you no matter what" he says, then adds on "Is what Chloe's parents would say".

Grizz looked back outside one of the windows to see how much daylight was left. There wasn't much, and Grizz wanted Chloe to get home safe rather than have to ride back through the dark forest. _What if she encountered a wolf like Alpha_ Grizz thought. _Or possibly even Charlie?_ This joke made him chuckle a little.

"What's so funny?" Chloe said in a melancholy tone looking up at Grizz.

"Ah, nothing" he replied with a smile. "It's gonna be dark soon. You should probably head home". Chloe nodded in agreement, feeling she might have overstayed her welcome and caused the Bears enough despair, but lifted by their comforting thoughts about her and her parents. She walked towards the door, grabbing her purple bike helmet from off the floor where it laid next to her yellow backpack. She placed it over her head and snapped the buckle.

"Oh, wait! My homework is still in the kitchen." She ran in quickly to grab it and turned the lights to the room out from behind her. She proceeded to her backpack to stuff the papers into it. Zipping it up and throwing it over her shoulder, she reached for the door knob and opened it, ready to escort herself out.

"Chloe, wait." Grizz shouted. Chloe didn't look back Grizz and just stood there with the door partially open. "When you get home, promise us you'll tell your parents about your sadness. They'll understand, trust me." Chloe said nothing and simply leaned her head down and closed her eyes to absorb what Grizz said.

"I promise." said Chloe, with just a sharp enough pitch in her voice so the Bears could hear her. "Bye Guys."

"See ya" panda shouted.

"Bye!" yelled Grizz. Ice said nothing and waved like the others did, but Chloe still did not look back at them. She stepped forword and closed the door behind her, then proceeded herself to her bike, and rode away from the cave. Hopefully the ride home would give her time to think about what happened.


	6. The Moment of Truth

[As the camera faced the sky,] It was night time now, and the city was dark as the lights of both buildings and lamp posts helped to keep the city awake. Chloe on her bicycle was peddling down dark, but lit street, not fearing anything the night had to offer. She faced forward as she approached her house. The faded rose coloring was not apparent during the night, but her address was still seeable from a distance. She got off her bike as she approached her lawn and threw her helmet on the ground, knowing her neighborhood was safe and the stuff wouldn't get stolen. She knocked on the wooden, chocolate bar-looking door to check and see if her parents were still up waiting for her. Her father was shouting something in Korean as her mom responded towards him in the same language, but upon opening the door, her voice returned back to American, greeting Chloe.

"Oh, hello Chloe" she said in her soft, melodic voice. "How was staying at the cave with the Bears?"

Chloe responded shyly "Oh, you know. It was…fun. Heh, heh, heh".

"Is something wrong , Chloe?"

"Well, actually…I need to talk to you and dad about something. It's kind-of important".

"Oh, ok then. Well, come on in". Her mom waved her hand out in front of Chloe as she walked through the door. She went into the kitchen where her dad was, cursing himself in Korean about all the bills that had to be paid. Chloe was hoping none of them were college related. She took a seat on one of the oak chairs around the square coffee table, waiting for her father to be finished with his rants. He didn't stop, not even when Chloe took a seat. It was only after her mom walked in and tapped him on the shoulder, informing her that Chloe was here now in their native tongue that he calmed himself and put the papers down on the table to look at her, doing his best to keep a smile on him while his eyes showed his restless bags from work.

"Oh, hello sweetie." He spoke to her in a stern, but calm voice, just as any father would. "How is my little daughter doing? I'm sure you got all your homework finished, aye"?

"Yeah, it's all done." replied Chloe, looking away from her dad and twirling her fingers around themselves to try and seem busy, but appearing nervous.

Her father looked at her, looking almost angry, but really concerned about her. It was his glasses and older age that made it seem like he was mad, and Chloe had seen it too many times before. "Chloe, what is wrong? Are you feeling ok"?

"I'm fine, dad. It's just that…I have to…tell you guys something." She rubbed the back of her head as she spoke.

"What is it then?" said her mother, who sat down in another chair at the table, leaving the last one empty and alone. _If only one of the Bears were sitting in that chair_ Chloe thought as she looked over at it. She remained quiet for a little while longer, trying to anticipate how her parents would react. She took a deep breath and calmed herself before speaking, preparing for the worst.

"Mom…Dad… the Bears and I were talking back in the cave earlier and they made a good point towards me that…well…"

"Chloe, whatever you have to tell us, we are here for you. We want to make sure you are ok and happy." Her father replied, who opened his eyes a little more sincerely as he faced her. It calmed Chloe down and made her smile some, happy to hear her dad say that. It made her believe that maybe the others were right; maybe her parents wouldn't overreact to her objections.

"Mom. Dad. I…I don't want to be in college anymore. The truth is that I miss my old school". She finally said, trying to make her voice sound lighter and more appealing.

[The camera cuts away to face her parents, but heads in the picture and close up]The eyes of Chloe's parents went up in pure shock over what they heard. They were speechless. Her mother raised her hand over her mouth as she gasped, and her father stared down upon her in silence. Chloe opened her mouth slightly as her teeth were pushed together, grinning in fear of what they might say. Her mother was first to speak.

"Chloe, I… I don't understand. Why would you want to do that?" she exclaimed as she lowered her hand away.

Her father immediately followed. "Chloe! What on earth has gotten you to think something like this? Have you been doing something behind our back?" he cried out at her. Chloe was now definitely frightened after her father had just spoken to her. She closed her eyes and turned away from her father as he shouted at her, but knew she had to persevere. She turned back in the direction of her parents to explain the 'why' of the situation.

"Dad," she said, directing most of her attention towards him now. "I told the Bears back at their home about when I was back in school and all those advanced tests I took and about you guys. I told them about how you guys were so happy about my intelligence and how, well…" she paused for a minute to catch her breath, and continued on. "I never wanted to advance to middle school or college. I only did it because... I figured that was what you guys expected from me." Right after Chloe had finished, her parents looked at each other, amazed to hear what she had just said. Her father continued to speak, softening his voice for her.

"Chloe. You…you thought WE wanted you to do this?" Chloe looked away from him, unable to see the disappointment in his face, nor his wife's.

"You guys were just so happy and proud of me, that I feared telling you 'no' would just…make you upset." She closed her eyes as tears started to form once again. Her voice was horribly sad, even greater than back at the cave, like she had just experienced the lost of a friend…or her parents. "I didn't *sniffle* want you guys to be… dis-sat-s-fi-hide towards meee." She grabbed hold of her eyes, palms covering them away from her parents. She was crying now, the first time her parents have ever seen her in a long time.

Her mother came to her side to hold her shoulders, frowning towards her with despairing eyes. "Chloe, why would you ever think we would be disappointed in you? You're our daughter and you mean everything to your father and I. We were just proud of how brilliant you were, but we never knew you felt this way." She leaned in to hug the devastated Chloe as her father rose from his seat, came to her from the other side, and faced her in the direction of her mother.

"Chloe, If you never wanted all this, you should have told us." he piled on in a more sincere, fatherly tone. He was more than likely regretting the raising of his voice from just earlier. "Your mother and I are very proud of you, but we would never make you do something you didn't want to. We love you no matter what." Chloe looked up at her father, still tearing very heavily, but trying to hold back as he spoke to her.

"Whether you are smart or not, in college or Elementary School, a doctor or a plumber, we will support you no matter what, but we would never ask anything more than for you to be happy. If you feel like not being in college, then we won't make you". He wiped away the tears on Chloe's face he brushed her ebony hair back, trying to calm his daughter.

Chloe looked away to face her mom and asked them, turning her head in every which way between them "So…you guys *sniffle* wouldn't be mad if…I just *sniffle* wanted to back to my old grade?" Her parents looked at each other to confirm their facial expressions at each other. They were both grinning at each other, with beady eyes locked in contact together.

They turned back towards Chloe and her father, putting his index finger under her chin so that she would look up towards him through all the glairiness in her eyes "Of course. If that is what you want, your mother and I are more than ok with that."

Her mother intervened and told Chloe, who faced her as she started speaking, "We are so sorry for ever putting so much pressure on you, Dear. We only want what is best for you." Chloe could not help but smile, still tearful through her eyes as she faced her mother. She felt lighter than she has ever felt before, like an anchor has been lifted off of her chest.

She stood up on the chair to ring her parent's necks around her arms and cried out "Thank you, Mom and Dad."

They pulled themselves out from under her arms to grab hold of her and hug her as her father said "We love you too Chloe. We hope you can forgive us for ever making you feel this way".

Her mother followed by stating "and we're sorry for all the years you missed. We will do whatever it takes to make this right for you." Chloe's head rested between her mom and dad's shoulders, slightly tilted diagonally for comfort. As the last of her tears came falling from her eyes, she smiled, feeling so loved by her parents and so thankful towards the Bears for ever giving her the courage to tell her parents how she felt.

The joy was overwhelming to her, but the Moment quickly ended when Chloe's father, who pulled her away from her mother, still holding her up in the air, and injected "If it is ok with you, Chloe, do you think you can make it through the rest of the year? So that way, in eight years if you feel ready, you still have the classes complete and won't have to redo them?"

Chloe looked at her father, frowning a little, but quickly saw the logic in his question, and smiled, closing her eyes as her cheeks scrunched them. "Of course, Dad! No problem."

"Ah, there's our happy little girl now." her father cried out as he put her down. "We can finish this conversation and head down to the university first thing tomorrow morning to tell them the news. But right now, it's bedtime, and we don't want our little angel all cranky now, would we?" he said as he smiled at her.

"Daaad, please!" Chloe squealed in embarrassment, but happy to feel anything but sad after the day she had.

"Your father is right Chloe" said her mother from behind. "It's time for you to get some sleep, but we hope you will be ok now, alright?"

"I'll be ok mom. Thank you for hearing me out." Chloe cried out as she walked out of the kitchen to head up stairs and get ready to brush her teeth and head to bed. She waved at her parent while still facing them in the kitchen "Goodnight Mom. Goodnight Dad."

They both cried out at the same time "Goodnight Chloe".

She walked up the stairs, pulling out her cell phone as she continued going up. She opened the text menu to text Panda. _I just told my parents the news. U guys were right. They totally understood. Thank you so much u guys._ Panda responded a text back saying _Ur welcome! Grizz wants 2 know though: Does this mean we won't see u anymore?_ Chloe was not too sure in her response, but she assumed she would just be going to a school in the city, not somewhere else. She texted back, still a little unsure in her mind _Of course u will! I'll still b here in town, & the cave's not going anywhere soon now, is it?:)Don't worry u guys, it's all fine._

The last text she got just as she reached the top of the stairs was: _That's a relief. We would have been devastated if so. Me and the guys r crashing though. TTY in the morning! Glad to know ur ok._ She responded back: _Sleep tight u guys. Lve u!_ There was no response, but Chloe turned her phone off, awaiting to go to sleep, but even after doing her routines and getting into bed, she couldn't help but wonder _What if I never do see the guys again? What if we have to move for me to go back?_ She had no idea, and only morning would hold the answers from her parents. She slowly closed her eyes, unsure about what to expect her parent's response to be tomorrow morning. Only time would tell.


	7. The Alternate Ending

At this point, Chloe began to start crying, not holding herself back this time. She raised her hands up to her eyes to mask herself, and all the bears did was stay silent, but this could not go on. Eventually, Panda asked Chloe "What do you mean by 'thinking college just was not best for you?'"

She put her hands down to try and explain it to the Bears. "It's just that… I started college at the age of 11 and everyone around me is so much older that it makes me feel like I am not meant to be there. I mean, people there are nicer and I don't get bullied on anymore, but sometimes I feel like I just… don't belong, and my past is just so upsetting that it sometimes makes me cry."

The Bears realized that Chloe was finished and Grizz, who put his destroyed pile of food on the ground, having almost forgotten about it, stood up and walked over to Chloe. He sat down with her on the table, his body twisted to face the couch, but his legs facing diagonally off the table, knees bent and away from Chloe. He put his right paw on her back to try and comfort her and began.

"Chloe, the others and I are terribly sorry for ever making you have to bring this up and bumming you out, but you know what? It doesn't matter what happened all that time ago. It might not have been great back then, but everyone has rough times when they were young. I mean, look at us?"

Panda instantly jumped in, realizing where Grizz was going with this. He stood up and walked to her as he spoke. "Yeah. I mean, when we were young, we never even had a permanent home. We always lived in boxes and had to beg just to get by."

Ice quickly explained after Panda was finished "Bears also never went to school."

Grizz decided to pile on to what Ice had said. "Yeah, we also never even had the opportunity to go to kindergarten or any of those other grades you told us. We had to live on the streets, never knowing what it was like to get to learn and have an education. That's one of the reasons why we don't have jobs."

Chloe looked up to Grizz and the others, still upset, but no longer tearful or crying. "How did you guys *sniffle* get over it though?" The bears all looked at each other, knowing it was a little difficult of an answer, but, to everyone's surprise, Ice Bear stepped in and gave his answer, now placing one of his paws on Chloe's back as Grizz was.

"Chloe. Ice Bear understands growing up is hard. There will always be people who will try to put one down; make one feel unloved. Ice Bear felt this way for very long time. It was not until Ice Bear understood importance of family that Ice Bear had moved on. Beings can never forget the past, but they can enjoy what is now, what is here, in the now. Make it better."

Ice Bear had broken one of his personal rules: speaking more than he has ever done before, but he knew he would checkmate everyone in the room by doing this. Grizz and Panda were left in so much shock by how much he spoke that they had to agree with him and follow what he said, and Chloe could see just how much Ice Bear truly cared for her then and there.

"He's right." was Panda's response. "Growing up was difficult and hard to move past, but we had each other at the time and, as long as we were together, nothing else mattered. Not shelter, not food, and not even people."

Grizz intervened into the conversation, not wanting to feel left out. "Exactly, but Chloe." He said facing her. "You have so much more to happy about. You have a home, a great personality, tons of people who not only like, but love you, and…" Grizz stopped to hold back his choking in his voice. "caring parents. So what if there were some bad times in the past? It's over with now, and you? You have the rest of your childhood to be happy about that."

Chloe had suddenly felt lifted by all their encouraging words. She slowly turned her frown into a little smile. Her eyes started tearing, but not because she was sad anymore, but rather happy. She knew they were right. She had so much to be happy about now that nothing from the past mattered what-so-ever. She stood up on the table and stretched her arms out around the Bears.

"You're right. I do have so much to look forward to, both now and later. Those jerks can cram it for all I care. This is what really matters." She said as she hugged all the bears around her. Her tears were quiet and dismal, feeling happy once more, not just for what was around her, but for knowing now just now much the bears really cared about her. They listen, they help, and they love. If only others could know just how great they truly were.

"I love you guys so much." She said as they continued to hug, sniffling just a little afterwards.

"We love you too, Chloe." said Grizz

"and we always will. We promise." came Panda next.

Ice Bear finished with his solution towards Chloe. "Ice Bear will still hunt down bullies, if necessary".

Chloe laughed some. "Ha ha. No, no. It's ok. You know what enemies need defeating though?" she inquired.

"What?" said Panda.

"Some Dungeon Keepers!" she cried. "We need to kill the gate keepers to save the prisoners from certain doom."

"Oh-hoo yeah!" shouted Grizz, happy to see Chloe, not only happy again, but also looking forward to beating the game again. "Let's do it!"

"I'm gamed." said Panda.

"Ice Bear will conquer all foes." he stated. Grizz turns the T.V. on, the main menu of the game still on as the screen lit up. some sounds are made and the bears sit on the couch as Chloe resumes her spot on the table.

[The camera cuts away to the outside of the cave after the characters are all moving their controllers and pressing their buttons. The sun was going down from the side as the golden, rich yellow light rested onto the cave from the outside, illuminating it with it's glow.]


End file.
